Bigham Jack L MARQUART M 5 CHARGER N987JB

Summary

On 15 May 2026 at about 22:00 local time, a Bigham Jack L MARQUART M 5 CHARGER registered N987JB, operated by Cassill Aircraft Leasing Inc, was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

15 May 2026 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

32.1924, -110.9789

Aircraft

Bigham Jack L MARQUART M 5 CHARGER

Registration

N987JB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Cassill Aircraft Leasing Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chandler → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

NTSB number

WPR26LA191

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On May 15, 2026, about 1500 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur built Marquart M5 Charger was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal fight. The pilot reported that prior to departing, he checked the fuel quantity indicator and observed about 14 gallons of fuel. He estimated that it would provide one hour of useable fuel. The pilot departed and noticed a “heavy smell of rubber” and no smoke. The rubber smell then went away. The pilot reported that while he was about 1,000 ft above ground level the engine lost all power. The propeller continued to spin and he switched the electric fuel pump on. The pilot elected to land on a road where he performed a wheel landing; however, a vehicle was in front of the airplane so the pilot elected to turn away from the road and the vehicle, which resulted in the airplane impacting a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. After exiting the airplane, the pilot reported that he saw a stream of fuel coming from behind the engine that lasted for about 15 seconds. The airplane was recovered to the pilot’s private hangar for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.